In recent times, motorcycles, scooters, and mopeds have become increasingly popular forms of transportation. Motorcycles in particular have become much more widely used for everyday commuting to and from work and for both long and short recreational trips. The market for two-wheeled vehicles has become greater and more valuable to the manufactures of the vehicles and dealers in the vehicles and vehicle accessories.
As motorcycles, in particular, have become a more popular form of transportation, attempts have been made to increase the comfort of the operators of motorcycles. Since riders of two-wheeled vehicles are completely exposed to the elements, their comfort is a more significant issue than with typical cars, trucks, and other four wheeled vehicles. Additionally, riders of two-wheeled vehicles must always be sitting upright, straddling the seat, and holding on to the handle bars, with little or no back support. With rider and passenger comfort being such an important issue, the attempt to increase the comfort level the comfort level of motorcycles has been accompanied by an increase in the development and market for motorcycle accessories installed by the manufacturer and after market devices installed by owners or third parties.
One area in particular in which the development of motorcycle accessories has been concentrated is devices increasing the comfort of the rider's seat. A typical motorcycle, scooter and moped seat includes a first contoured seat for the driver as well as an extension which may be attached rearwardly of the driver's seat. The extension, which provides a place for a passenger, usually is also contoured to adapt to the bottom of the rider. The passenger seat may also be attached to the motorcycle to the rear of the main seat where the driver sits separate from the driver's seat.
To provide for the comfort and safety of the passenger, motorcycles often include a backrest or sissy bar attached to the motorcycle behind the passenger seat. This backrest or sissy bar can provide a certain amount of comfort for a passenger by providing a place for the passenger rest his or her back. By providing a place for a passenger to hold on, the backrest or sissy bar may also provide a certain stability for the passenger which the passenger cannot obtain from holding onto the handlebars as the driver does. However, since the driver must sit in the driver's seat to reach the handlebars, even if unaccompanied by a passenger, the backrest or sissy bar is attached to the motorcycle too far back to be of use in increasing the comfort level of the driver of the motorcycle. Therefore, a need exists to increase the comfort level of motorcycle riders.
In addition to the great desire for after market devices enhancing the comfort of riders of two-wheeled vehicles, another perpetual problem which exists with two-wheeled vehicles is that of insufficient storage space. A lack of any significant storage space is inherent in the design of two-wheeled vehicles. Unlike four-wheeled vehicles, such as, for example, cars, which have a trunk, and trucks, which have a bed, two-wheeled vehicles do not have such storage capacity. Storage capacity is a necessity, whether riding a two-wheeled vehicle to work, or on a long road trip. In order to solve the storage problem with two-wheeled vehicles, there has developed a market for devices allowing for carrying of articles.